Director of Marketing, K12/Higher Ed Reports to: Vice President of Sales

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Work Model: This position is a hybrid role that could require up to 4 set days in office per week. (Exceptions may be made for remote candidates based on experience).

As Director of Marketing, you will define and execute the marketing strategy to strengthen the company’s U.S. market presence, aligning marketing activities with commercial priorities, customer needs, and growth goals. Your responsibilities will span e-commerce, commercial marketing, sales enablement, pricing coordination, competitive intelligence, events, partnerships and sponsorships, and the company website.

Initially, you will take a hands-on approach, directly overseeing the e-commerce function and a small team. As the U.S. marketing team expands, you will help shape its structure, hire talent, and build capabilities based on company priorities, gradually shifting toward broader team leadership.

Essential Responsibilities:

Ecommerce

• Manage the Ecommerce function and provide strategic direction for promotional priorities, product visibility, customer experience, and commercial performance.
• Coordinate Ecommerce priorities with Marketing, Sales, Orders, Operations, Finance, and other relevant teams.
• Ensure the Ecommerce function maintains accurate and current website content, product information, pricing, merchandising, and customer communications.
• Monitor website and Ecommerce performance and identify opportunities to improve customer experience, conversion, and revenue.
• Ensure Ecommerce and website activities are integrated with broader marketing campaigns and product launches.

Marketing Strategy and Execution

• Define and execute the overall U.S. marketing strategy in alignment with company objectives, commercial priorities, and customer needs.
• Develop annual marketing plans, budgets, calendars, and measurable objectives.
• Develop marketing strategies that reflect the needs of state adoption markets, open territories, and Higher Education.
• Prioritize initiatives based on revenue goals, market opportunities, product priorities, and available resources.
• Take a hands-on role in the development and execution of key marketing initiatives.
• Monitor marketing performance and use the results to improve priorities, campaigns, and resource allocation.
• Recommend future team structure and resource needs as the U.S. Marketing dept grows.
• Manage agencies, vendors, and other external partners as needed.

Commercial Marketing and Sales Enablement

• Develop and execute integrated campaigns across email, webinars, conferences, social media, customer communications, and digital channels.
• Develop product positioning, messaging, and value propositions for the U.S. market.
• Coordinate product launches with Sales, Product, Editorial, Implementation, and other relevant teams.
• Lead demand-generation and lead-nurturing activities and establish clear processes for lead capture, qualification, and follow-up.
• Develop customer stories, testimonials, educator interviews, and district success stories that support purchasing decisions.
• Ensure sales consultants and sales leaders have current, consistent, and ready-to-use resources.
• Develop or coordinate sales presentations, proposal templates, product comparisons, demo materials, playbooks, portfolio guides, and competitive resources.
• Partner with Sales and Strategic Opportunities to identify gaps in sales materials and prioritize the resources with the greatest commercial impact.
• Develop materials and internal communications that prepare sales to present new products, digital platforms, and updates.
• Measure the use and effectiveness of marketing and Sales Enablement resources and improve them based on field feedback and commercial results.
• Plan and oversee the development and maintenance of U.S. marketing collateral, including catalogs, program brochures, samplers, one-pagers, standards correlations, event materials, and product- and adoption-specific landing pages.

Pricing and Market Intelligence

• Lead the annual pricing process for the U.S. portfolio in coordination with Sales, Finance, Operations, Product, Editorial, Ecommerce, and company leadership.
• Develop and present pricing recommendations based on market conditions, customer feedback, competitive pricing, costs, margins, and commercial priorities.
• Coordinate pricing decisions for current products, new products, digital offerings, bundles, and other commercial initiatives.
• Ensure approved pricing is implemented consistently across internal systems, the website, sales materials, price lists, and customer communications.
• Partner with the Strategic Research Data Associate to monitor competitor products, positioning, pricing, features, adoption activity, and other relevant market developments.
• Establish a consistent process for collecting, organizing, updating, and sharing competitive intelligence.
• Translate competitive and market findings into recommendations for leadership, product positioning, sales resources, and commercial planning.

Website, Events and Partnerships

• Lead event strategy and coordinate the planning and execution of conferences, webinars, and company events with internal teams and external partners.
• Establish participation goals, planning standards, lead-capture processes, follow-up expectations, and performance measures for events.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with professional associations, educational organizations, industry partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Identify and coordinate partnership and sponsorship opportunities that support brand visibility, educator engagement, lead generation, and commercial goals.
• Represent the company at conferences, association meetings, and other industry events, building relationships that strengthen the company’s presence in the U.S. market.
• Evaluate the results of events, partnerships, and sponsorships to guide future participation and investment decisions.

Skills and Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 5 years of proven marketing leadership experience, preferably in education (K12 or Higher Ed), publishing, educational technology, or B2B markets.
• Minimum 2 years of mentorship or leadership experience managing teams, agencies, vendors, events, and cross-functional projects.
• Professional fluency in English and Spanish, with strong written and verbal communication skills in both languages.
• Experience developing marketing strategies, annual plans, budgets, campaigns, and performance reporting.
• Strong    understanding    of    product    marketing,    demand    generation,    customer communications, and Sales Enablement.
• Strong commercial mindset and ability to connect customer and market insights and marketing activities to revenue, growth, and measurable business results.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in an international, matrixed organization and align stakeholders across functions, countries, and time zones.
• Excellent writing, messaging, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience with CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and digital marketing tools (preference for Zoho, Zoho Desk, Asana and Canva)
• Ability and willingness to travel within the United States and internationally as needed for conferences, meetings, and company activities.
• Must be based in the Chicago area or willing to relocate and able to work regularly from the Chicago office as part of a hybrid schedule (If exception is made for a remote position, you must be willing to travel to the Chicago office up to 25% throughout the year).

Preferred Experience:

• Experience marketing K–12 curriculum, including state and district adoption markets.
• Experience with Higher Education, world language programs, educational publishing, or educational technology.
• Experience coordinating creative and production work across international teams.
• Experience with Ecommerce strategy, website management, and customer lifecycle marketing.
• Experience supporting product launches across print and digital portfolios.
• Experience managing print and digital collateral production, from brief to delivery.

Benefits:

• Health insurance
• 16 days PTO, which increases to 23 days after two years with the company
• All federal holidays off
• Retirement plan with 3% employer match
• Paid lunch break in the middle of an 8-hour workday
• Up to 12 weeks parental leave, paid 50%
• Monthly credit allotment towards commuter expenses
• Additional benefits and professional development opportunities

Pay Range:

This role offers an annual base salary of $100,000 to $120,000, with compensation within that range determined in part by the agreed work arrangement (hybrid or remote), plus a bonus tied to the company’s annual sales goals.

In compliance with the Equal Pay Act, this company ensures their job opportunities have an equitable pay range. Additionally, all full-time employees are eligible to participate in the benefit plans described above.

Company Description:

Our client is a growing educational publisher expanding its presence across North America, backed by a global organization that includes more than 80 educational companies worldwide. They publish high-quality world language products for K–12 and Higher Education and create content that helps students develop authentic communication skills, make meaningful connections, and become global citizens. They also believe educators play an essential role in language learning, which is why supporting teachers and providing professional development opportunities are central to their mission.

By joining this company, you can:

• Be part of a mission-driven organization shaping the future of world language education.
• Lead the U.S. marketing strategy and directly influence how educators discover, evaluate, and adopt our programs.
• Join a collaborative, international team with the agility of a growing company and the reach of an established global organization.

Our client is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regards to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.